“They say some of the fastest tea clippers make fourteen knots,” Djaren observed, sitting on the deck with Kara, watching Tam and the off-duty crew trying to drop nets. Djaren didn’t see Kara much these days, since he was busy … Continue reading →

Jon was learning so much this voyage, and not just the things he’d expected to learn on a ship—sails and ropes, and the winds, and the funny ways that boats moved. Every day a little group gathered to compare notes … Continue reading →

As much as Kara disliked boats, being out in the ocean without one was worse. Clothes wet with salt water were heavy, and itched, and she was very thirsty. Everything in the world except water and sky was gone, and … Continue reading →

Djaren got up from the table without asking, leaving his model wave to melt down onto his toast while the others ate in subdued curiosity. Djaren had never found his curiosity very subdue-able, and since he hadn’t been expressly forbidden … Continue reading →

Kara discovered that, as expected, she didn’t like ships. This was one of the worst ships that had ever been hammered together. No wonder it had been sent as far from its cursed builders as possible, to live in this … Continue reading →

Jon Gardner tried not to fidget with excitement. All the windows in the lecture hall were open, and warm spring air blew in, carrying the sounds of the river rapids below, and the smells of orchards and farmland to the … Continue reading →